Paths
by chibihakkai
Summary: Though he did not fall, a little one was pushed down into despair. Luckily, a hidden one was there to help him back onto his way of life. Slight HinataNaruto.


1**kyu: okay. I had this typed sometime last year, but I never actually posted it. It's a story between Hinata and Naruto, but I only wrote it because one of my friends really likes this couple. I still am loyal to my SasuNaru!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, yadda yadda hot sweaty boy sex. You get the picture. I'm not the first yaoi fangirl. Also, there are several quotes and lines from songs in here. If you can tell me even one, I'll mention you in an after-note. Good luck, minna-san!**

"Stupid! StupidstupidstupidSTUPID!" a small, yet obviously angry voice screamed at no one in particular. "You knew they'd blame you. Why did you even try?!"

A small boy of around seven or eight looked at his reflection in the glass of a nearby window, ignoring the tear tracks running down his face. He lifted a tiny hand to his cheek and hissed when the fingers came in contact with the bruised flesh, surprised it was already turning a faint green color.

Blue eyes- much too old for this young body- took in other features: blonde, gravity-defying hair, tan skin, whisker lines on each side of his face. He scowled and resisted the urge to punch the glass, lest he be blamed for that too.

He instead let his forehead fall forward to rest on the cool surface, then turned slowly so that his cheek came in contact with at least a little comfort. Sighing, he allowed himself to turn and slump to the floor, defeated for the moment.

"Why do I even bother? No one cares if I'm around." At this, the boy scoffed. "They'd all be a lot happier if I wasn't even here to begin with."

"Th-that's not. . . true." The boy's head shot up at the sound of another. But after a moment, he chalked it up to his imagination and went back to scowling at his horrible excuse for a life. He pulled his knees to his chest, resting his chin on them and wrapping his arms around his legs.

"Maybe if I jumped off that stupid memorial mountain. . ."

A disturbed gasp issued forth, and a small girl flew around the nearby corner, only stopping once she was directly in front of the huddled boy. Hesitantly, she lowered herself to her knees by the shocked boy. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Wh-What are you doing here, Hina- Hyuuga-san?" he asked slowly, fearing punishment for his near slip up.

"Hinata."

"Huh?"

"My name is Hinata, Uzumaki-kun. Please don't be so formal with me. You are older than me, you know." The black-haired girl blushed and averted her pale eyes.

"Naruto."

This time it was the girl's turn to look confused.

"If I call you Hinata, it's only fair that you get to use my first name, right?" he said, lowering his knees and crossing his legs.

Hinata's blush increased slightly, and she nodded, refusing to look anywhere but at her hands fisted in her lap. However, curiosity called when she heard a slight sniffle. She looked up at her conversation companion and gasped again.

Naruto had leaned his head back against the wall and was staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry." Hinata almost missed the soft whisper. "I'm sorry to do this, but. . ." Naruto looked back at her, a watery smile on his face. "I can't help it. I tried- I really did! I tried to perfect for them! Honest, stronger, smarter, all of it! . . . But every time something happens, they blame me. Even if I was nowhere near the location! I get blamed for every little thing that goes wrong. And I just can't take it anymore."

The blonde looked up as if just noticing that he was spilling everything to someone he only knew because of classes. He had the decency to blush and sat up, staring to the side. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a timid, cool touch to his cheek, pulling his face back to the girl in front of him.

"Does it hurt too badly?" Hinata asked, seemingly not noticing the proximity breach between the two. Not waiting for an answer, she continued. "What happened, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's eyes glanced to the side again, but he kept the conversation going. "There was a guy. . ."

At Hinata's slight nod, he continued, ignoring the fact that she had pulled some sort of ointment out of her hip pouch. "He was trying to rob the store next to the Ichiraku Ramen shop. . . He stole some money and a couple of other things. I heard the people shouting, but I didn't see anyone coming to help, so I went to stop the jerk myself.

"Next thing I know, the guy grabs me and threatens the people that he'll kill me- he had a kunai pressed to my throat." Hinata looked at the slim column and noticed a nick with a thankfully small amount of dried blood around it. She nodded for him to continue and kept up her attentions, taking out the needed bandages and tools.

"They- they just stood there and glared. Some said that they'd rather attack just to be rid of me. I- I couldn't control it. I kicked the guy and redirected his arm so that he stabbed himself in the leg." Naruto's head drooped, breaking Hinata's concentration. "Turns out that the guy was stealing so that he could help out his friend's family and his own kid. The people seemed to think that's enough of a reason to turn me into the bad guy."

There was a long pause as Hinata concentrated on the cuts, being sure to care for the nick on his neck. Naruto said no more and simply tilted his head as she directed and sat still. As she lowered her hands, Naruto sighed, a sort of relaxing habit he had picked up from Iruka-sensei.

"But whatever. It's nothing new. . . Thanks for bandaging me up." Naruto stood up and moved to leave when that soft voice reached his ears once more.

"No one has the right to take the life of another. We should not try to choose who lives and who dies." Hinata said, never looking up. "You did what you thought was right. And if those people can't see that, then they have been blinded by their own hatred and prejudice."

"But he was gonna-" Naruto tried, only to be stopped by Hinata once again.

"That doesn't make it right!" Naruto turned to look at the girl, her supplies strewn about her, her head down, hands clenched firmly in her lap. "No one should be able to decide the fate of another. We choose our own paths. And stick to them until we reach our destinations. . . Even though we may make turns in our journey, and meet others on the same path, we should not try to choose another's way."

Naruto stared at the other ninja-in-training. This was not the same girl from his class. She never looked at anybody, never talked unless spoken to- and even then it was hardly any words and spoken in a breathy, stuttered whisper. Against everything his body said, he turned and left the abandoned school hallways. He didn't look back at the figure watching him through the window pane.

He never looked back at anything. He kept his head high and focused on the future. He couldn't change the past; he couldn't predict the future; all he could do was focus on the here and now. And right now, he needed an aspirin and a nap.

00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00

Ten years later, a seventeen-year-old Naruto stood on the highest point of the village. He stared at the figure opposite him and ignored the rivulets of water running down his face, blending with the tears, hiding them from view.

"Why?" he half-yelled. "Why do you keep this up? Why won't you let me go? Why do you keep giving me that look?" he dropped to his knees, no longer able to support himself, and whispered, ". . . Why do you care?"

"Because. . ." the other answered, voice showing no emotion.

"BECAUSE WHAT?!" Naruto screamed. "WHY WON"T YOU JUST LET ME DIE?!"

"Simply because, Naruto." The other stepped forward, kneeling before the boy. "If I let you die, I would never forgive myself."

Naruto looked up at the ninja that had followed him everywhere for years and just stared.

"Why did you help me that day?" he whispered, not trusting his voice to go any louder.

Hinata smiled. "You were calling out to me. You seemed to have fallen along the path, and I didn't want you to get left behind."

She stood and offered her hand to the crestfallen boy she had come to love. "So, my fallen angel, let's go home and get you dry."

Naruto stared at her hand and finally, tentatively, reached out and grasped it. He held on for dear life as if he thought she would fade away. He got to his feet and followed as Hinata tugged him down the path connecting the village to the memorial mountain. He stared at her and contemplated how much she had changed since they were kids. And then he smiled. For the first time in years, he smiled a true smile- not his fake grin he pulled on daily with the rest of his mask.

". . . Thank you."


End file.
